Saussurite is amineral aggregate which is formed as ahydrothermal alteration product ofplagioclasefeldspar.[1] It appears very similar tozoisite with a green or grayish-green color, it has been used as a substitute or simulant forjade.
Saussurite is not however recognized as a true mineral because it is a microscopic mixture of several other minerals, zoisite,epidote,sericite,albite or other sodium-rich feldspar along with possiblyscapolite. The use of microscopicrefractive index data andX-ray diffraction patterns are needed to distinguish some saussurite simulants from true jade.
It was named after the Swiss explorerHorace Benedict de Saussure, who discovered it on the slopes ofMont Blanc.
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